Death of a Painter

by Matthew Ross

  ‘Doing a spot of DIY Marky Mark? It’ll look very nice I’m sure,’ said Hamlet, then turning his attention to Disco and Perry, ‘You two, fuck off!’

  ‘Hey, come on, no need to talk to them like that,’ I said, this was my house and my friends, so the primeval part of me wanted to defend them, unfortunately I realised too late it wouldn’t be the primeval part of me but the very easy to bruise fleshy outer bits of me that’ll get the battering. But to my amazement Hamlet didn’t react.

  ‘Yes, you’re quite right Mark, I apologise, that’s no way to talk in front of a lady,’ said Hamlet. ‘So, will you please, pretty please, if you don’t mind, it would be awfully kind if you please… fuck right off.’

  Like the obedient dogs they were, Brazil and Dunlop moved forwards to shepherd Disco and Perry out. Disco’s scowl was enough for them to keep their distance. He might be a shabby old mongrel but he’s one mutt you don’t want to poke. With a chivalry that was very evidently lacking from our new guests he helped Perry to her feet and guided her to the door. The surprise and anger were clear on her face, but Disco was whispering words to calm her down as he walked her out.

  ‘It’s okay,’ I said to them. ‘This won’t take long, I’ll come and find you when we’re done.’ Disco nodded and they were gone.

  ‘You left me a message yesterday Mark, you wanted to talk to me, here I am, so talk.’

  ‘Okay, but before I do, we had an agreement didn’t we, I find you Sally’s killer, you waive my debt, that was the agreement, wasn’t it?’

  He nodded his head whilst keeping his eyes fixed on me.

  ‘No, say it, I want to hear you say it.’

  ‘Yes, that’s the agreement, you find him and we’re quits. Does this mean you’ve got me a name?’

  ‘Yes.. I think so.’

  ‘And how certain are you? How do I know you’re not simply setting up someone you’ve got a grudge against, someone who nicked your parking spot?’

  ‘Ninety-five per cent,’ I said. ‘Short of actually seeing him do it, I think it’s pretty conclusive.’ And so, I told him about Beach, about Tommy’s cash for cheque scam, about Charlie wanting fifty thousand’s worth of dope, about Beach pressing Charlie for cash up front, about Sally’s phone messages, about Beach’s warning to stay away from his wife and I swear I saw Hamlet wince when last of all I told him about Sally being pregnant.

  ‘Right you are Marky,’ he said after a short reflective silence, ‘I’m convinced. I’ll take it from here.’

  ‘And the debt?’

  ‘Account rendered in full,’ he said rising from the armchair. ‘These two are my witnesses.’

  Great, Brazil and Dunlop, watch them go skipping down the yellow brick road – talk about having men of straw as your only witnesses.

  Hamlet and the scarecrows left the way they came in, they had the scent of blood and were on a manhunt. I collapsed onto the armchair. There was a muscle flickering in my jaw causing my teeth to chatter, and my mouth tasted bitter with bile.

  I turned the tap and filled a pint glass with water. I tipped my face to the ceiling to down it in one, I needed to get rid of the taste.

  ‘Ahem.’ Hamlet gave a fake cough to attract my attention, and I nearly soiled myself at the surprise. He was on his own. ‘I’ve left them two in the car,’ he said, ‘there’s something I want to talk to you about, in private. Not in here though, looks like a bloody building site.’

  He wandered through to the living room and sat in my armchair, gesturing for me to sit beside him on the sofa. I meekly complied.

  ‘I hear you and Cookie had a bit of a tête-a-tête recently. I hear Cookie was shouting his mouth off,’ said Hamlet. I remained silent, neither confirming or denying. ‘I heard he mentioned your brother.’

  I tried not to react, but I don’t think I succeeded.

  ‘Is there anything you want to say to me?’ asked Hamlet.

  I tried to remain calm, I tried to remain tight-lipped, I tried to remain in control. But I knew what Hamlet was really saying, he was offering me a once in a lifetime opportunity: speak now or forever hold your peace.

  ‘He’s alive,’ I said, ‘I’ve seen him.’

  Hamlet nodded, ‘He’s alive, yes, always has been.’ He leaned forward and looked at me, or rather, he looked into me. ‘You thought I’d killed him didn’t you.’

  ‘Not you personally.’

  ‘Okay… I killed him, I had him killed … same thing really. But no, I didn’t,’ said Hamlet, there was a calm, smooth tone to his voice, as though he’d rehearsed these words. I sat back in the sofa, scraped my hands over my face, gripping my cheeks as I dragged them down then up, trying to shake out the fear and fatigue.

  ‘I have been protecting him. For the past six years,’ said Hamlet. I didn’t speak, I didn’t need to, my face asked all the questions. ‘It was necessary. He’s a good lad, but a bit too keen, got himself involved in something way over his head. So, he was given somewhere safe and sound to hide.’

  ‘From Cookie?’

  ‘Cookie? Cookie’s just a loud-mouthed twat, forget about Cookie, he knows nothing. He’s going to get what he’s due for what he did to Sally’s place. Desecration, that’s what they call it.’

  I nodded but I wasn’t sure at what, whether it was Sally’s flat or Cookie that was getting desecrated.

  ‘Anyway Marky, the reason I’m here, I have a new offer for you.’ Hamlet smiled as he spoke, with all the Monkhouse sincerity of a game show host, ‘This is what I’m thinking…. you’ve given me Beach, thank you very much. So as agreed, you can take the cash I gave you, you’re free to walk away with it and solve all your problems…’

  What was going on? We had a deal, I’d given him what he wanted, this was unfair – but wait, he hadn’t finished.

  ‘So, option one, take the money and run. Or option two, you still owe me, but in return for you giving me Beach, I give you brother Adam.’

  My head reeled, I gripped the sofa cushions convinced I would fall off otherwise, a yawning, lurching feeling crept up inside me and I feared I would vomit.

  ‘So, what’s it to be? Take the money, or I tell you where he’s been and where you can find him?

  54

  I don’t know how long I’d been sitting there before Perry found me. She settled herself on the arm of the chair, put her arm around me, rested her head against me and with a light squeeze we sat in silence until, judging the moment, she spoke.

  ‘Disco asked me to take him to the Bell, said he’d see you tomorrow.’

  ‘The Bell? I’ve not been there for ages,’ came my reply without thinking. I’d resorted to auto-pilot whilst the rest of me tried to make sense of what was happening. I gave a lazy shake of the head to her offers of something to eat or drink, but I was grateful for the gentle kiss to my temple before silence returned.

  I was broken out of my trance by the ringing of my phone. ‘Hello Bern, what’s up?’

  ‘Your mate, Charlie, they’ve found him.’ His words felt like an icy finger running down my spine, my stomach slowly tumbled over.

  ‘He’s… dead? Is he?’

  ‘No,’ said Uncle Bern, ‘but he’s not in a good way. He took a proper clout to the nut, cracked his head right open, lost a lot of blood. They’ve taken him to Medway Hospital, intensive care probably, that’s what the ambulance man said.’

  ‘Who did it?’

  ‘No idea. I told you, no-one’s seen him since last night. Old John found him in his lock-up when he opened it up this morning, almost had a heart attack and dropped down dead himself when he saw him.’

  In hindsight that’s at least one highlight in this utter omnishambles, I’d have liked to have seen that.

  ‘Whoever had done it had locked him in there and left him for dead. He’s alive Mark, but only just. He’s lucky Old John’s an early starter as who knows what would have happened otherwise.’

  I thanked Uncle Bern, and put down the phone. I wondered whether Perry could see the relie
f coming off me like steam, it felt so physical. The auto-pilot was switched off and I burst into tears: big wet blubbery tears.

  Perry cooed and soothed, until I was ready to speak, to tell her why I felt so emotional. Her beautiful big brown eyes coaxed the words from me.

  ‘I’ve got Jen’s money back. Chloe will have the future Tommy wanted.’

  Perry gently cupped my head in her hands, and wiped away my tears. ‘You’ve done a wonderful thing, I can see you’re emotional, but these are happy tears,’ she said through a beautiful smile. I didn’t tell her about Option Two, and tried to convince myself they were indeed happy tears.

  Once I’d pulled myself together, we found neither of us were in the mood for getting back to work. The spring sunshine was still there coaxing us outside. Proper beer garden weather. We decided Disco had the right idea, and felt we deserved a relaxing couple of hours under a clear blue sky and we too headed to the Bell.

  Sitting alone waiting for Perry to come back from the bar my phone rang, Number withheld. Normally I avoid calls like this and against my better judgement I answered it with a tentative hello.

  ‘Mark, it’s Nick Witham, can’t talk for long, got you a quick update. Rob Beach has been picked up in deepest darkest Essex, drug bust. Don’t have many details other than he was waiting in a field for a light aircraft that never landed. Essex Police are keeping a tight lid on it, but apparently it was a big money undercover sting. Just thought you’d like to know.’

  I thanked him, and as I cut the call Perry sat down and pushed a new drink across the table to me.

  ‘You look very pleased with yourself,’ she said, and as she raised a chilled glass of fizzy water to her lips I told her about the call I’d just received.

  We clinked our glasses together in celebration and from inside we could hear Disco laughing uproariously with friends. It acted as the release trigger we needed, and we both started laughing as well.

  55

  Hey Dad, I think I’ve done it. I’ve dug myself out of the hole I was in. Just give me a minute, hear me out, I just need to say it out loud and make sense of it, make sure I’ve not missed anything, no holes.

  So, the Wilkes money came in at the nick of time and I used that to pay off all the trade creditors. That left Tommy’s money and Hamlet’s money to pay back. Hamlet’s waived his debt, that means I’m off the hook with him and can use his money to repay Tommy. I haven’t got anything, but more importantly I don’t owe anyone anything either, happy days.

  Rob Beach killed Sally and Tommy, I worked that out and told both Hamlet and the police, but he got picked up by a different police force entirely, an anonymous tip-off apparently, so neither of them got him first so neither have got any reason to come back at me, especially as Nick said the tip-off came from a woman walking her dog suspicious of the men loitering about and worried they were perverts.

  You know what Dad? I think I’m actually ahead for the first time, things are going right for me at last, and even the sun’s come out, shining on the righteous. I like to think you put a word in for me, thanks.

  Shame you’re not here though, that’s the one thing I can’t change, and it’s not fair. Well, it’s not the only thing. Adam’s alive, he’s out there, and Hamlet knows where. He will tell me, in time, I just need to regain his trust. I’ll find him, Dad.

  Went to the Bell yesterday, first time in ages, last time I went there was with you. You were very ill then, not long before… well, you know. You were quite weak, you’d lost a lot of weight, too much. It was one of the hottest days of the year, do you remember? You insisted on sitting outside, I suppose looking back you knew just how ill you were and wanted to make the most of the sunshine for the last time but then all you did was complain that you were getting a headache.

  Do you remember I thought there might be an old baseball cap in the back of the van? Your hair, it was so thin by then, but I couldn’t find the cap so we had to make do with what I could find, remember? So, there you were sat in a pub garden licking an ice cream cone wearing a bright yellow construction hard hat. That was the last time I’d been there.

  I told Perry about you in the hard hat, she laughed. Things are going good there, you’d like her. Who knows where it’ll lead but without this millstone of debt around my neck, I think my head will be in a better place to give it, whatever ‘it’ is, room to grow.

  Still not learned to play the banjo yet, in fact it’s been hidden away since I saw it being played so well by, well it doesn’t matter who by, but it made me jealous I suppose, so I packed it away. If I can’t have it to feel closer to you, then no-one can. Silly isn’t it?

  ‘Talking to yourself again are you?’ came Perry’s voice through the open door, promptly followed by herself. ‘What’s that you’re holding?’

  ‘This? Oh, it’s my Dad’s banjo, well it’s the case obviously, the banjo’s inside it.’

  ‘Get it out then, let’s have a look,’ she said.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Really. It’s clearly very precious to you, so I’d like to see it. Please’.

  Won over, I snapped open the buckles that held the hard-sided casing together and peeled back the lid. Her eyes widened, she reached to touch it and without thinking, by reflex, I recoiled. She looked up at me and in a gentle tone said, ‘Relax, take it easy, I’m not going to break it,’ and she reached in and removed it from its protective home. Its silver frets flashed in the daylight, the mother of pearl inlay created rainbow reflections on the ceiling.

  She perched on the edge of the chair, gripped it close to her, formed a chord, no idea which one but when she strummed it rang as clear and as pure as you can imagine. Then to my amazement she began to play; it was a little clunky with some awkward chord changes, but there was a recognisable tune. She could play. She grinned, as she knew I was surprised and impressed in equal parts.

  ‘I learnt to play the ukulele at college,’ she said without me even saying a word. ‘There was a course, a few of us did it for a laugh, I really got into it. Surprised myself there that I could still remember some of it.’

  Well how about that then Dad? Told you you’d like her.

  56

  By the following morning, the remodelled kitchens in our side-by-side houses were well underway. Disco had finished the carpentry works, after all it was only swapping out old units for new ones, he’d galloped through it in double quick time. Uncle Bern was in my house making a start with the wall tiles, and would be ably assisted by Disco once he’d finished packing away his tools, providing the pair of them didn’t get into another stupid argument – together they were like a pair of toddlers, and for that reason I was happy to be away from them. I was in Perry’s house, moving some spurs in readiness to pop in the appliances. Perry meanwhile was in my house, upstairs in the bedroom, she needed to get some studying done and because I’d turned the electricity off in her house, I suggested she go to mine so she could use the wi-fi.

  All was going well, through the open window I could hear Bern and Disco bickering next door but the radio diverted my attention away from them, and soon I was playing along with Pop Master and getting trounced by the woman contestant, but I was interrupted before the final question so I decided to call it a draw.

  ‘I said, we’re going down the caff for breakfast, do you want us to bring anything back for you?’ said Uncle Bern leaning in through the window.

  ‘Please. Get us a bacon roll, red sauce, cheers,’ I said. ‘And don’t be long. We need to be out earning a living again, everything needs to be done by tonight.’

  I watched Uncle Bern and Disco walk away together, united in their delight in getting one over on me and I didn’t expect to see them again for at least an hour. I didn’t mind, it gave me the chance to crack on without any interference, I’d almost finished the electrics and that’d only leave the wall tiling and flooring, and if all three of us jump on to that when they came back we’d have it sorted in no time.

  Like all good plans
, my interruption-free run was pretty soon interrupted by a ringing phone. I was of a mind to ignore it and let it run to voicemail but then I saw the name displayed.

  ‘Hello Jen, darling,’ I said into the phone. ‘How are you? What can I do for you?’

  ‘Hi Mark,’ she sounded much better, she was alert and so much more like her old self, I hoped she was off the pills. ‘Someone just called about the van, wanted to see it.’

  ‘I’m at home today Jen, it’s right outside, I’ll be here all day, send them over.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll call them back now and tell them to go and see you, thanks,’ she said and closed the call. I paused for a moment, and then decided no need to bother Perry if she’s studying, I’ll leave her in peace for now, and I got back to work.

  I emerged from under the sink when the eleven o’clock news started on the radio, no sign of Bern or Disco, but I was quite pleased with the neat, tidy job I’d done of running in a new fused spur for the washing machine. I ached from being hunched down low so long. I put my hands behind my back and arched, belly forward shoulders back, trying to squeeze the ache out. As I leant back my peripheral vision caught a shape, a person, passing by the front window.

  As I rolled my head around in circles, ear to shoulder, chin to chest listening to the crackles and crunches inside me, I wondered if that could be the person about the van. I slowly swept up the off-cuts of cable and conduit listening out for Perry, and sure enough, carried across the small width of garden I heard her call, ‘Mark, can you please come here. Someone to see you.’

  I responded that I was on my way, and a couple of seconds later I walked in through my own kitchen door, noticing that Uncle Bern deserved some credit as he’d actually done a very nice job with the tiles so far.